Another Chance
by Otaku Sage of Llamas
Summary: What good can come out of changing the past? Will it give us true happiness? Then, after doing the unforgiveable, is it possible to be forgiven? Dist x Jade


**Disclaimer**: Otaku-Sage-of-Llamas does not claim to own Tales of the Abyss and its characters. Rather that privilege belongs to Bandai-Namco.

**Summary**: What good can come out of changing the past? Will it give us true happiness? Then, after doing the unforgiveable, is it possible to be forgiven?

**Warnings**: There is one OC, possibly clichés, some torture (but it's not much) and yaoi. Also, beware of potential spoilers and the authoress' sad attempt at writing (that includes her horrible grammer).

**Genre**: Drama (with some random lines of wit or humor)

**Pairings**: Dist + Jade

**Rating**: M

**Authoress' Other Notes**: The quotes are taken from the game, and not only do they work as good transitions between scenes but they also do deal with the story itself. This version is censored, if you want to see the actual lemon then go to my profile and look for the link.

* * *

**Another Chance**

**by Otaku-Sage-of-Llamas**

* * *

"_A single path…among your many possible futures"-Ion_

* * *

"Argh! I can't stand this anymore!" Dist the Rose complained as he gripped the bars of his small dirty prison cell at Grand Chokmah's military base. The guard on duty merely stared, used to the former god general's tirade, and sighed.

He was isolated from the other inmates because of their hatred towards the reaper which could lead him to being beaten or sexually assaulted. Emperor Peony still had some kindness left in his heart for his childhood friend, despite his crimes, and gave Dist some special accommodations.

'_All I wanted was to resurrect Nebilim-sensei and be by Jade's side. Why did he have to abandon me?_' he thought as he sat down on his uncomfortable bed. Reaching down underneath the mattress, Dist retrieved a small yellow sphere.

'_It's complete…but it's only good for two uses_,' he stared at the fonmachine he made in secret. He managed to gather the supplies by sneaking out through tricking a guard, after all he is a genius, and stole from a local store returning before anyone noticed he was gone. This fonmachine was capable of time travel.

After weeks of brainstorming the theory, he finalized his ideas into a potential plan. There was no guarantee of success but it was worth a shot. He would do anything for another chance to be with Jade.

Closing his eyes, Dist concentrated on sending some of his fonons into the device to activate it. As he opened his eyes, Dist found himself at the old lab that he worked in with Jade and saw his younger self sitting on the floor in shock.

"Hello.~ I am the beautiful Dist the Rose, your fabulous future self!" though his words did not seem so true as he still wore his hideous grey prison outfit.

"What!? How are you here…?" Saphir asked, his body trembling and his nose started to run.

"I have come to tell you something important. In a short matter of time, Jade is going to tell you that he is quitting fomicry. When he does this, instead of rejecting his resolve, accept it or lose Jade forever. Besides, creating a perfect replica of Nebilim-sensei is impossible. I have concluded that," Dist explained as he remembered how Jade's first replica of her attacked him viciously.

"Is what you say true?"

"Don't you have any faith in yourself? I'm counting on you," he closed his eyes again and focused on the fonmachine grasped within his hand.

* * *

"_ND2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city."_

"_ND2019. The forces of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear shall march northward….After inflicting atrocities upon the villages in their wake, the army shall surround the fortress capital."_

* * *

New memories floated into his mind but not replacing the old that now rested in the back of his memories. His younger self did indeed follow his words, giving up fomicry with Jade, and eventually finally gathered the courage to confess his love to him. Dist saw their first time making love, he never imagined that Jade could be so passionate. It seemed out of character for him.

As Dist opened his eyes, he looked into the crimson eyes of Jade sitting next to him on a bed, "Finally awake? I didn't think that kissing would make you faint. Am I that good?"

The Necromancer teased his lover, who turned a bright red color befitting a rose.

"Jade," he called out as the other man straddled his waist.

"Saphir. Are you going to faint again?" he said, leaning forward to lick Dist's lips. Dist moaned as Jade slipped his tongue into his mouth, exploring every inch of the warm moist cavern. He whimpered when his lover's tongue left.

Jade smirked, "Are you excited just from that?"

_---This sex scene has been edited out to meet ff's rating system.---_

After gaining some composure, he promptly withdrew and collapsed next to Dist. The two fell asleep, spooning against each other.

* * *

In the morning, Jade, dressed in his uniform, was already eating breakfast in the kitchen by time Dist arose from his sleep. His rear was throbbing, causing him to struggle when he tried to leave the bed.

The colonel looked up from the book he was reading while eating to his lover, "I hope that will keep you satisfied while I'm away."

He sighed when he noticed the confused look on Saphir's face.

"I told you, remember? Emperor Peony is deploying the third division to rendezvous with the Kimlascan forces that are quickly approaching Theor Forest," Jade explained.

"But why does he have to send you?" Dist complained.

"The Kimlascans have already devastated most of our forces," the former god general frowned at that. Jade stood up and approached his lover, kissing his neck before moving to his lips.

As they grew apart, Jade said, "I'll be off then."

"Be safe," Dist whispered.

"I promise," he smiled as he left.

Two weeks went by without any word of Jade or his division and Dist was worrying frantically about the wellbeing of his lover.

A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts. Dist was disappointed to see that it was only a soldier, who bowed respectfully.

"Sir Saphir, I bring you some grave news…"

"No!" Dist screamed in realization of the news that the soldier brought, "It can't be."

"It is the will of the Score that has brought the end of the Necromancer," Dist fell to his knees in despair. All his efforts to be with Jade were all in vain.

It was not supposed to be this way. They were supposed to grow old together!

Becoming enraged, Dist rose to his feet and yelled like a madman, "Damn the Score to hell! By my name as Dist the Reaper, I will change this world corrupted by the Score!"

He ignored the soldier as he ran onto the streets of Grand Chokmah, which was no longer the bright and vibrant city it used to be. Dist wandered the streets aimlessly, driven into a state of insanity.

As he drew near an ancient shrine by the water, a strange voice calls out, "_Someone, please heed my voice…._"

This makes the fuming former god general stand still in front of the shrine, "_…someone, please set me free…_"

Dist identified the voice as a female one. Intrigued, now sober from his lapse of insanity, he inspects the sea-side shrine, which as just a giant slab of rock with ancient Ispanian on it and an ancient fonic glyph acting as a seal.

Concentrating on his fonons, he manages to break the seal. The glyph vanished as a beautiful female spirit with long flowing raven hair appears.

She looks down at Dist, "Thank you for freeing me. I am Atheria."

Atheria frowns as she says, "I see this world still stubbornly follows the Score. What has happened to the Light of the Sacred Flame?"

"What…? Luke?"

"I see…my efforts have been wasted. He was my hope for this world."

"What are you talking about?" Dist asks, confused by her words.

Atheria sighs as she started to explain, "Yulia and I were both gifted with the ability to see the future. I rejected my powers, believing that the future we could see was only one of many possibilities. Yulia agreed but she used her gift for others, giving them a meaning to their existence…."

"….One day, that damned man heard of her powers and forced her to read the future of the planet through its memory. Consumed by greed, he made it the doctrine of Auldrant, the Score…"

"…Anyone that resisted was murdered. Yulia was upset with the situation but she was helpless. And so, I tried to start my own resistance, making my own version of the so called Score. However, he tracked me down and crucified me at this very spot."

Dist's eyes looked down at the ground as the spirit continued her tale, "With the last of my powers, I sealed a portion of my soul into this rock with that glyph. Hoping one day that my voice would reach out to someone to release me…"

"…After so long of no one answering my calls, I contacted Lorelei. However, it seems that the replica had not been made of the Light of the Sacred Flame as we planned. The One Who Would Seize Glory, influenced by Lorelei, was supposed to create him. But it seems our plans have failed."

He couldn't meet her eyes as he said, "It's my fault."

Dist falls to his knees and cries, "I created a fonmachine capable of time travel since I was unhappy in that world which you sought so desperately."

"I see," she says solemnly, reaching down to unexpectedly hug him.

"Aren't you angry?"

"I am…but you are merely human. And I believe that you have learned from your folly, Child of the Roses," Dist looks up in surprise at her name for him.

"And with the last of my will, I shall send you back to your original time to start again…and I hope that you fully bloom from this experience," Atheria starts to whisper as her image fades away and darkness overwhelms his vision.

* * *

"_But no matter how much you change or regret your actions, not all of what you've done will be forgive." – Jade Curtiss_

* * *

Dist sighed as he found himself back in his prison cell and the yellow fonmachine in hand. He threw it against the wall, shattering it to pieces.

The loud noise of the sphere breaking caused the guard to move in front of the cell, "What's going on here?"

'_Maybe I can take advantage of this situation_,' the former god general thought as he clutched at his stomach as if in pain.

"Owwww! It hurts," he whines to the guard.

"Fine. I'll take you to the doctor," he grabbed his keys to open the cell. But Dist takes off before the guard could handcuff him. Leaving the prison area underneath the military headquarters, he found himself on the ground floor where soldiers were stationed everywhere. He cursed under his breath.

'_Jade's office should be around here. A window should be in there. Hopefully, he's not in_,' Dist approached the colonel's office, relieved that it was unguarded like the rest of the base. He made a tentative knock on the door to see if Jade was in or not.

After receiving no answer, he entered the office. Dist noticed the uncharacteristically messy corner of the room. Jade was a tidy and organized person so it must have been the work of someone else, perhaps Pea-brain. The emperor never was a clean person; his chambers were kept like a rappig pen.

Shaking his head, Dist tried to get back on the task on hand. He found the window and pried it open. Thankfully, his small frame allowed him to easily slip through it.

'_Now, to go to the shrine that Atheria is in_.'

* * *

His imperial majesty, Peony the IX, was listening to a report by his childhood friend and right hand man, Jade Curtiss, when a couple of Malkuth soldiers burst into the audience room frantically.

"Your majesty! Dist the Reaper has escaped!" Jade sighed, pushing up his glasses, as Peony tilted his head, curious how he managed it this time.

"Though, we are still in custody of his chair."

"I see. Saphir couldn't have gone far. He never was the athletic type, he will get tired pretty quickly," Peony rose from his throne.

Looking at Jade and then the group of soldiers he said, "Let's find him."

"But your majesty!" the soldiers protested at the thought of their emperor joining the search.

"Why not? This might be fun!" he grinned causing Jade to sigh again.

* * *

Dist could see in the distance that soldiers followed by Jade and Peony were on his trail as he reached the shrine. Quickly, he undid the glyph as the group was closing in on him. He managed to finish his work before they reached him, soldiers ready to restrain him.

However, the soldiers were caught off guard as Atheria appeared who stretched her arms out.

"Ah!" she laughs, "I see that the Score has been left behind at last!"

Atheria looks down at Dist, who was on his knees, "Thank you for freeing me…but how did you know that I was here?"

He is silent and then feels something probing at his mind, he allows her to read his mind.

"I see. Now how will you proceed, Child of the Roses?"

"Why do you call me that?" Dist asks.

"That is the ancient Ispanian meaning behind Saphir. A delicate flower awaiting to bloom into maturity as thorns protect its core from being harmed. A befitting name for you. Have you not avoided death countless times?" the spirit explained.

"What will you do now that your dream has been realized?"

Atheria smiles, "I will watch over it, protecting it with the remnants of my soul. Although, my powers cannot hold this form for much longer…"

She leans down, stroking Dist's hair like a child. Her form starts to fade and warm bright light gathers around him. When Atheria completely disappeared, the soldiers recovered from their stupor to handcuff him.

"My my. I want a full explanation about this back at my palace," Peony said, taking off towards the palace with Jade trailing behind the emperor. The soldiers soon followed.

At the audience room, Peony sat upon his throne and Jade was standing off to his side as the soldiers brought the former god general forward.

"So Saphir, care to explain?" the emperor leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. Dist could only look at the ground in shame, he didn't want to see the crimson eyes of the one he loved.

"…I wanted…to live again instead of rotting in that cell…alone."

"Is that really all? You fled the prison only to go to the ancient shrine and release an old spirit we didn't know that existed. Who exactly is she?"

"She is known as Atheria and was from the time of Yulia Jue," Dist looked up into understanding blue eyes.

"Yulia!? But there's no record of Atheria."

"Atheria rebelled against the Score and became a martyr. The newly formed order behind the Score erased the memory of her so that no further rebellion would ensue."

"I see. There might be some forbidden texts about her at Daath…but how did you know that she was there?" Dist kept silent, looking back down at his feet that were bare since shoes were not part of the prison's uniforms. Tears were threatening to spill out as he thought about the price he paid for using that fonmachine.

A world still clinging onto the words of the Score….

The sweet tenderness that Jade gave hum until…

…he was left in a world without Jade.

Jade, the reason for why he sought to change things.

"Saphir," the emperor called out. Receiving no response yet again, he rose up and approached his silent childhood friend. Peony grabbed Dist's chin, raising his head.

He saw tears in the corners of his eyes, "Why are you crying?"

"…no reason," Dist lied and the emperor tilted his head.

"Hmm," he walked back to his throne and sat down.

"Alright then. I will move you into house arrest."

"But your majesty!" the soldiers shouted as Jade pushed up his glasses.

"Your majesty, have you forgotten that Dist is an S-rank criminal?" Jade spoke coldly.

"Of course not. However, Saphir isn't physically strong so it can work."

"Yes but Dist can trick them like he just did. It would require someone on par with his own mind…" the colonel started to be interrupted by the emperor.

"Okay then, you will supervise Saphir," Peony grinned.

"Your majesty!" Jade exclaimed, barely keeping his emotions in check. Meanwhile, Dist's heart sank at the emperor's decision.

"Oh? Do you want to walk my rappigs then?" he teased but the threat was there. Jade could only sigh.

"I will release Saphir into your custody now," the colonel moved over to his former friend and dragged him off by the collar of his dirty grey prison shirt. Dist cursed at the rough treatment all the way to a decent sized house that was clearly not the Curtiss manor.

At Dist's questioning look, Jade explained, "I don't live at the manor anymore. Not for years. Besides, I don't think they would like having such a dirty pet."

Once inside the house and in the living room, Jade ordered in a cold voice, "Take that disgusting shirt off and face the wall."

Dist silently complied, afraid to provoke his anger. As he did this, Jade retrieved a whip and knife from his bed chambers. The former god general did not dare to ask why he was in possession of such objects.

"Don't make a sound or you will regret it. This is your punishment for all that you've done," the Necromancer whispered into his ear before backing up some distance behind Dist. He barely managed to hold his cry as the whip lashed at his back.

The hits kept coming relentlessly as his body started to tremble, his nose running. It seemed that Jade was taking out all his anger into this beating. This made the incident at Keterburg Hotel seem like nothing.

When the whip stopped hitting him, Dist noticed that Jade was lightly panting.

"Good pet. I didn't have to use the knife. You will wear that horrendous outfit until I get something appropriate from Peony," Dist could only look on in confusion as Jade smirked.

"You are to take care of the house. Cleaning supplies are in the closet. I don't expect you to cook for me. Besides, you might try to poison the food. You will sleep on the couch. Any questions?"

"No," he whispered, still avoiding Jade's gaze. His back stung badly but the shaking had already stopped.

"No what, my pet?"

"No, master."

"Good," he petted Dist's head.

The next day, the colonel returned to the house from the palace with a black bag in hand as Dist was cleaning the windows. He handed it to his newfound pet, who blushed after looking at the contents.

"You honestly can't expect me to wear this, master."

"Oh? I think you would look dashing in a maid's uniform. His majesty added in the cat ear and tail set," Jade grinned.

"Tomorrow, I will be departing for Daath to talk with Fon Master Anise about the entity you have discovered. Florian and Anise should be able to find something. Peony promises to visit your lonely self while I'm gone," Jade informed his pet.

'_Will you return to me this time?_' Dist thought as memories of the soldier coming to his door flowed into his head.

As expected, the emperor kept his word. He could not manage to come alone, as his guards worried about him, but he made them stay outside the front door as they talked in the living room.

"You don't seem happy," Peony said.

"Why should I be happy at being his slave?" the emperor raised a brow.

"I thought you would be ecstatic to live with Jade. After all, when we were kids, you never left his side."

"…I know."

"What really happened, Saphir? I may not be as smart as you or Jade but I'm not that dumb. I'm not asking as your emperor but as your concerned childhood friend," Dist was unable to avoid the topic anymore and he revealed everything. The emperor was completely silent by time he finished his tale.

"Just don't tell Jade!" Dist begs, falling to his knees. Concern shows through Peony's sky blue eyes, troubled by his friend's despair.

In a week's time, Jade returns to Grand Chokmah carrying a couple of books. As he placed them on the living room table, he said, "I've noticed an odd mark on your back. It probably has something to do with Atheria."

Dist looked up from dusting the bookshelf," what mark?"

Jade ignored his lack of proper addressing him as master, "I found it when I punished you. Also, it appears your scars from that time have disappeared."

"But how?"

"It appears that Atheria was what we know today as a seventh fonist. It's interesting considering how Lorelei vanished and the powers of the seventh fonon became useless. Or…unless, her powers have nothing to do with the seventh fonon at all."

A day later, Jade asked his pet for permission to experiment on him. Rather than experiments, it was more like extracting data dealing with Atheria. Jade led Dist into a small lab set up in the house and he was surprised.

"I thought you gave up on resurrecting a replica of Nebilim-sensei?" this comment earned the former god general a swift kick that sent him to the ground. Jade pressed his foot onto his pale head, crushing him against the cold tiled floor.

"Don't be stupid. I'm trying to raise awareness about the replicas that you so forsake at the Tower of Rem."

* * *

Months went by and nothing changed between the two like Dist secretly hoped. Eventually, he gave up on his fantasy.

He gave up trying to have Jade's heart, '_if he still has one_.'

The emperor of Malkuth visited Dist regularly and on one day, they thought that the two of them were talking away from any prying ears in the living room as Jade rested in his chambers.

"Why haven't you confessed your feelings?"

Dist laughed dryly," I've given up all hope on that. I rather just stand by his side then have my feelings returned and lose him again."

Jade leaned his back against the door; he had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I wonder which is more tragic?" Jade whispered to himself as crimson eyes stared at a crystal vase on the nightstand with a single rose in it. The flower petals were huddled close together, not quite ready to bloom.

* * *

_The End?_


End file.
